


july - maybe i'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time

by woodchoc_magnum



Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [3]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Anxious Evan "Buck" Buckley, Bottom Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Caring Eddie Diaz, Established Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley Loves Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley Needs A Hug, Family Drama, Fluff and Smut, Light Angst, M/M, Protective Eddie Diaz, Protective Evan "Buck" Buckley, Romance, Smut, Soft Eddie Diaz, rich white people being the worst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:21:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25202347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodchoc_magnum/pseuds/woodchoc_magnum
Summary: "You and me, baby. Remember what I said, okay? They're the past, but we're the future. I'm going to make you so happy, Buck.""You already do make me happy, every day," Buck replied quietly. "You're the love of my life, Eds."
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816843
Comments: 70
Kudos: 666





	july - maybe i'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time

**Author's Note:**

> Slight warning - Buck's parents are Trump supportin', disco listenin', overtly racist, stereotypical rich white assholes so... if that's something you're not into, sorry about that.
> 
> Also, this fic is finished (December is the last part) and I will be posting new parts every two to three days.
> 
> Enjoy!

****

* * *

**July**

"So I was thinking," Eddie murmured, moving so his head was resting on Buck's shoulder, nuzzling against his neck, "that maybe you could bring more stuff to my place. You know?"

Buck was on the verge of sleep. "Mmm."

"Like your X-Box and the games and stuff."

"Mmm. 'kay."

Eddie ran his fingers down his chest, watching the rise and fall of his breaths. "And maybe, in a couple of months, we could talk about moving in."

"Mmm—huh?" Buck was suddenly awake again, blinking at him in surprise. "What?"

"Yeah, we could move in together."

"But you don't want people to know." Buck looked utterly confused.

"Maybe I'll want people to know in a few months." Eddie reached down to pull the blankets up around them, settling in against Buck again.

"We haven't even really talked about the future. We haven't told Chris yet." Buck slid his arm around Eddie's shoulders, pulling him in close. "What do you want, Eds?"

"You already know what I want. You and me."

"And all the complications that brings. Your family, my family… our friends. Chris." Buck sighed. "My parents will not be thrilled."

"Neither will mine." Eddie rubbed his stubbly chin on Buck's skin, and then pressed his lips to the same spot. "My dad will be furious."

"I don't know how mine will react. I haven't spoken to them in years."

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "I don't really have much to say to them."

"You never talk about them, ever." Eddie had been told most basic things about Buck's childhood – he'd grown up in Philadelphia, there was a gap between him and Maddie because he was 'unexpected', he'd been pretty good at school and popular. He'd gone to college on the East Coast and then travelled around aimlessly for a while before deciding to settle on the West Coast. He'd told Eddie about the people he'd met, some of whom he still kept in touch with, like his college boyfriend, who was married and living in New York with his husband, their two kids and three pugs.

Eddie had noticed that Buck seemed to have more lasting relationships with men than with women – Abby was the exception, and Ali, to a lesser degree – but most of the people he talked about dating when he was younger were men.

Buck was silent, so Eddie scratched his scalp with his fingers, digging in the way he liked it. Buck sighed contentedly, his arm draped around Eddie's shoulders. He finally said, "You don't really talk about your parents either."

That was true. Eddie would prefer to avoid that topic as much as possible. "We're going to have to deal with it eventually," Eddie pointed out.

"I'd like to delay that as long as possible."

~~

Well, he'd jinxed himself, for sure. He should never have mentioned his parents to Eddie; it was inviting trouble, and trouble had decided to come knocking.

Buck hadn't spoken to them in years, but Maddie was pregnant. And because of that, they'd decided to fly out to the West Coast to see her and meet Chimney – shocking in itself, because they hadn't really given a shit the entire time she was married to Doug about how she was doing.

Maddie would say that she'd hidden it from them, but if Buck had known, and he was on the West Coast – how come his parents hadn't had any idea, and they'd been right _there_?

Maddie surprised him at work with this information, and he wasn't sure if she realised the bomb she'd dropped on him. They were having lunch with the whole team (Athena, Karen and Michael included), and Maddie casually announced that their parents were coming to town in a week.

So that led to a line of questioning, which Maddie mostly fielded:

"Why aren't you close with your parents?"

"They were never really interested in being parents. They're pretty selfish. We don't get along with them."

"How long has it been since you've seen them?"

Maddie said, "Four years."

Buck refused to answer the question – or any question – waving it away. He hadn't seen his parents since Maddie's wedding. He focused on his meal, and the way Eddie's knee was pressed against his under the table.

"Do you think they're going to cause trouble for you?" That was Athena, ever the protector.

"No, I think they're being nosy, but I also think Buck will have a problem."

Buck just shook his head, ignoring their concerned looks.

He was the first to excuse himself from the table, clearing everyone's plates. Eddie jumped up to help him, and they worked together to wash the dishes, as the topic changed to a lighter subject, and everyone was laughing at one of Chimney's war stories.

While the team were distracted, Eddie said, "There's something you're not telling me."

To which Buck replied, "I tell you everything."

"You don't talk about them."

"There's nothing to say." Buck paused, and then murmured, "Christopher is not to go anywhere near them, Eddie. Like, at all. I'd prefer if you didn't meet them either."

"I'm meeting them," he said stubbornly. "You met my parents."

"That's different." Buck added some more soap to the water and began to scrub one of the pans vigorously.

"How is it different?" Eddie cast a quick look at the others, who were still distracted.

"My parents will make you feel shit about everything in your life, including your son, who they will not say anything nice about and look at you with pity like he's a burden, because he's not a strong, able-bodied child," Buck said in a low voice. "And they will say something stupid about you not being white, and they'll think it's funny, and when you get offended they will say, in a passive aggressive way, that they were just joking and you're too sensitive. So no, Eds. No."

Eddie was already scowling, drying dishes in a huff. "And that's why you don't speak to them?"

Buck shrugged. "It is what it is."

~

His parents arrived on a Monday, thankfully while he was on the first day of a 24-hour shift, Eddie at his side. That meant he wasn't going to have to see them until Wednesday at the earliest, and if he was lucky, he could scrape by with maybe only seeing them twice for the duration of their visit, until they left on Sunday.

He wasn't expecting them to walk into the 118 on Tuesday morning, Maddie at their side, wringing her hands together. Buck was working out with Eddie in the gym when he saw Chimney and Bobby striding out to greet them, big welcoming smiles on their faces.

"Oh fuck," he said to Eddie. "They're here."

Eddie paused, grabbing for the bag before it swung away, peering out at them. "Bobby's got them distracted."

"No, I can't see them looking like this," Buck hissed at him, yanking off his boxing gloves and tossing them at him. "I have to go change. Don't you go anywhere near them."

Eddie made a face at him, but Buck was already striding over to the locker room, hoping to stay out of sight for as long as possible.

He quickly showered, put on some deodorant and changed into his formal uniform. Eddie went into the showers as he came out, his lips drawn into a thin line. Buck couldn't worry about Eddie. He just needed him to stay away from them.

"Where is Buck?" Maddie was asking Bobby as he left the locker room, her voice strained. "We'll just say hello and then be on our way."

"Yes, thank you for the tour," Patricia Buckley said, sickeningly sweetly. "It's a very nice firehouse."

"Thank you." Bobby looked a little flustered, and then relieved when he spotted Buck striding towards them. "Ah, here he is. We were looking for you."

"I was in the showers." Buck stood at Bobby's side stiffly, nodding at his parents. "Hi. Wasn't expecting a visit at work."

He took them in for the first time – his father, now shorter than him, with a bit of a pot belly, his head noticeably balder since the last time they'd seen each other. His sandy blonde hair had thinned right out. Buck guessed his was probably going to go the same way, and vowed to shave his head before that happened. His father was wearing a Ralph Lauren polo shirt and slacks, his go-to casual look. His eyes travelled around the firehouse distastefully, as though it was a third world country, and he'd never seen anything so depressing. A blue collar life for his son, Buck thought wryly. His father's worst nightmare.

His mother had changed her hair colour – the last time he'd seen her, it had been the colour of copper, but now it was a silvery blonde. She was still as slim as ever, with her lips drawn into a familiar thin, disapproving line. She wore a pair of cream slacks and a blue blouse, and the pearl necklace she'd worn every single day for his entire life was still in place around her neck. She held onto her husband's hand – they were now, as ever, a united front.

Maddie gave him an apologetic look. "They insisted."

"It's good to see you, Evan," Roger Buckley greeted him. "You're looking well."

"Thank you. You too."

"Look at those awful tattoos," his mother said, gesturing to his forearm. "You've grown out of that phase now, I hope."

Buck looked down at his arm, and replied, "No, I've got more planned."

She gave him a disapproving look. He stood his ground.

"Maddie tells us that you have a girlfriend. We'd like to meet her," his father said. "Invite her to dinner with us."

That was what he'd agreed upon with Maddie and Chimney – his fake boyfriend was to be a fake girlfriend in front of his parents, just to make it easier to get through their visit.

"No." At his flat refusal, they all looked surprised. "Absolutely not."

"She does exist, doesn't she?" Patricia asked, sharing a look with her husband. "You did go through some funny phases when you were a kid. I think we all remember the invisible friend."

"Oh right, the one I had to kill," Roger said with a laugh. "You would just not let it go. It's not right for a ten-year-old child to have invisible friends, you know."

Buck raised his eyebrows. Maybe he'd had the invisible friend because he was incredibly lonely and Maddie wasn't around anymore, and maybe he'd always known the invisible friend wasn't real, but like, his father making a point of taking him out into the backyard, aiming a gun at a tree where said invisible friend was supposedly standing and pulling the trigger was a _bit much._

Their distaste didn't just extend to his invisible friends, it was literally anyone who entered his life, any friend he made at school who wanted to come over was quickly dismissed for one reason or another. That extended to anyone he might've had a romantic attachment with – for example, his first high school girlfriend, Jessica. She wasn't good enough because she wasn't a tall, willowy blonde, and her family was too "middle class", whatever that meant.

And they hadn't liked the girl after her because her mother, once upon a time, had dated a black guy. Therefore, even though she was married to a rich, white guy and lived in one of the nicest houses in the suburb, her reputation was irreparably tarnished.

And then of course they found out that their precious boy liked to suck dick on occasion. Buck had invited his college boyfriend home for Thanksgiving, desperate for some company, and his parents had walked in on them together - but that was a whole other kettle of fish that Buck wasn't interested in reliving.

He was used to being the butt of the joke – at the 118, it was all in good fun. At home? It was mean-spirited. Always had been.

"I hope to god you've gotten over that awful phase you went through," his mother said, hitching her purse up on her shoulder. "With that horrible boy when you were in college. We were so disappointed in you."

Chimney gave him a concerned look and said, "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

"Oh, I forgot," Patricia said, rolling her eyes. "We're in _California._ Can't say anything too controversial, now can we?"

Buck thanked god that Hen wasn't anywhere near them. He heard the locker room door slam, and Eddie's footsteps on the stairs.

"Must be time to start settling down now, anyway," Roger said to him. "You're not getting any younger. Time to marry and have some kids; give us some grandkids. Now that you've gotten whatever that was out of your system."

Buck nodded slowly, and said, "Yeah, but being bisexual isn't really something you just, I don't know, get over, so… day by day, I guess." His words were laced with sarcasm, and he gave an exaggerated 'fingers crossed' to them.

His parents exchanged a look. "Well, I haven't missed that," Patricia remarked, checking her watch. "That kind of attitude is going to get you nowhere, Evan."

"Oh no. You think?"

"Hey, Buck," Eddie suddenly called from the balcony. "Can you give me a hand?"

"Who's that?" Patricia asked disdainfully.

Buck said, "That's my best friend. Gotta go. See you for dinner on Wednesday." He briefly kissed Maddie on the cheek and turned his back on them, striding over to the stairs.

Hen and Eddie were waiting at the top for him, with matching sympathetic expressions.

"Thought you needed a rescue," Hen said, drawing him in for a hug. "We could hear most of that."

"Yep." He met Eddie's eyes over her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm all right." He stepped away from her, lifting his chin. "Dinner's going to be interesting."

Eddie cleared his throat. "We were thinking of giving Cap a break from cooking," he said. "We've ordered a feast; we just gotta go pick it up. You want to come with me?"

"Yeah, sure. What are we having?"

"A Mexican fiesta," Hen said with a laugh. "Eddie's idea. He picked the place."

"Typical," Buck said to him affectionately, and Eddie grinned.

They headed down the stairs together. Bobby and Chimney were leading Maddie and Buck's parents out of the front entrance, but he followed Eddie out the side of the building, fishing his keys out of his pocket. They climbed into his truck, Buck in the passenger seat, and Eddie said, "I figure we've got an hour before they get suspicious. The food will be ready at 1. We need to be back here by 1.15."

"Where are we going?" Buck asked him, buckling his seatbelt.

Eddie started the car. "I know a place."

~

The place was the underground carpark at Buck's building, which was a convenient five minute drive from the restaurant. Eddie drove in, parked in his usual spot, yanked his thumb at the backseat and growled, "Get in."

They had twenty minutes. Buck joined him in the back, his mouth dry, silent as Eddie divested him of his shirt and then removed his own. They kissed frantically, pawing at each other, and Eddie undid his belt and shoved his pants down and off, climbing into Buck's lap.

"Eddie," Buck said against his lips. "What—"

"Shut up." Eddie kissed him hungrily, possessively, reaching down between them to undo Buck's belt. "Fuck me," he whispered hotly. "Fuck me, baby."

"What's gotten into you?" Buck wondered – but he was not complaining, not at all, as Eddie pulled his dick out of his pants and stroked him quickly. "Eddie, you're not ready—"

"I got ready in the shower at work." Eddie kissed him again.

_Fuck._ He'd planned this. Buck was rock hard, gripping Eddie's forearms desperately. "Serious?"

"Serious."

"Okay, then… get my pants off, man, I can't go back to work with cum all over them."

Eddie barked out a laugh, pulling away long enough to yank Buck's trousers down his legs. He held up a condom and then ripped the packet open with his teeth, before rolling it onto Buck's cock. "Easy clean-up," he said, and then added, "I'm gonna ride you hard and fast, baby."

"Oh my god, _really?_ "

"I just want you to forget all about them and think only about me," Eddie said, wrapping one hand around the back of Buck's neck, lifting his hips, positioning himself. "Don't ever forget what we've got, baby. They're in your past, but I'm your future. Okay?"

Buck nodded eagerly. This might well have been one of Eddie's greatest ideas. "Okay." He held onto the base of his dick as Eddie slowly lowered himself down, taking a moment to adjust, breathing heavily against Buck's neck. And then he began to move, rolling his hips at first, slowly, and then up and down, licking into Buck's mouth as they kissed.

Buck grabbed his butt and threw his head back as Eddie rode him, their ragged breathing the only sound in the car. Eddie had a wild, wanton look on his face, and when Buck answered him with a sharp thrust of his hips, he let out a moan. "That's it," he said, Adam's apple bobbing. "That's good. Do that again."

So Buck did, leaning in to taste the sweat on his throat. Eddie sank down on top of him, to the hilt, groaning, and closed his eyes as Buck fucked him with short, quick jabs.

"That's good, that's good," Eddie said, stroking himself with one hand, the other still holding onto Buck's neck. "Good, good. Hard. You're so good, Buck. You're so fucking _gorgeous_."

"You are," Buck managed to say, nipping Eddie's clavicle with his teeth.

Eddie was flushed red from his neck downward, beads of sweat dripping down his chest. Buck licked him, their damp skin slapping together as their ragged breathing filled the car. God, he was close, so fucking close, but he didn't want to finish first. Eddie slowed, dragging himself up and down the length of Buck's cock, moaning, still stroking himself in time with his movements.

Buck latched onto his nipple and sucked hard, and Eddie threw his head back. " _Fuck."_

"Come in my mouth," Buck said to him urgently, gripping his hips. "Come on, babe. I need it."

Eddie nodded, rising up on his knees. Buck bent over so he could suck him, opening his throat, trying to relax, letting Eddie slide in as far as he could go. Eddie groaned, twisting his fingers in Buck's hair and grabbing the back of the seats with his other hand. He managed only a couple of thrusts before he shook with the force of his orgasm, spilling down Buck's throat. Buck swallowed it down, grabbing Eddie by the hips, guiding him back down onto his cock. Eddie pressed his face against Buck's neck and whimpered as Buck fucked him, sinking his teeth into Eddie's shoulder as he came. They stilled, clinging to each other, breathing heavily.

Eddie nosed along Buck's cheek and finally captured his lips in a kiss. He stroked both hands up Buck's face adoringly, pulling away long enough to gaze into his eyes and run his finger over the red birthmark above his eye. "Gorgeous," he remarked. "My sweet baby."

Buck let out a tired laugh. "Come on, Eddie. I'm a strong, tough, macho man, I'm not your sweet baby."

"No, you love it." Eddie kissed him again. "I love you. I'm here for you. I've got your back, and I'll never abandon you, my love. My sweetheart."

"God, you're such a sap," Buck groaned, but hugged him close. "Fuck, I love you."

**~*~*~**

_**Chimney** _

To say that Chimney was nervous about leaving a good impression on Mr and Mrs Buckley was an understatement. He was stressed out of his brain about it.

So stressed, in fact, that he saw Buck and Eddie laughing together in a corner of the locker room, Buck leaning over Eddie to whisper in his ear, and it didn't even register to him that there was something odd about their body language; about the way Eddie was gazing at Buck like he was the only man on the planet.

"Buck," Chimney snapped at them, yanking open his locker. "I am freaking out. Your parents are terrifying."

Buck broke away from Eddie, who disappeared into the showers. "Well, yeah," he replied bluntly. "Did I ever give you the impression they were super nice and supportive?"

"You could've given me a heads up! Maddie is on the warpath today, and the house is nowhere near ready for visitors _and_ they're coming for dinner tonight. Can you come over and help us get ready?"

Buck hesitated. He fucking _hesitated_ , and Chimney whirled around to glare at him. "Dude, if we're going to be brothers-in-law, you need to step up."

Buck had his hands on his hips. He clicked his teeth together, thinking, and then said, "I'll help you, but I'm only seeing them tonight and then that's it. Nothing else. Got it?"

"No, because we need you on Friday night as well, Buckaroo. Come on," Chimney pleaded with him. "They've got this big fancy dinner planned at a swanky restaurant and your aunt, uncle and cousin are going to be there as well."

"Which aunt and uncle? Maddie didn't tell me that."

"Uh…" Chimney checked his phone. "Uncle Barry and Aunt Maureen, and your cousin, Kyle."

Buck groaned. "Fuck no. No way."

"Buck! Do not leave me hanging. Seriously, dude."

"They're not here to see me, Chim," Buck replied, holding his hands out helplessly. "They don't give a shit about me."

"Well, why don't you bring your boyfriend?" Chimney suggested. "As a buffer?"

"No." Buck's voice was firm. "Absolutely not."

Chimney groaned. "Seriously, dude—"

"I'll go with you," Eddie offered, striding out of the showers. "I'll be your buffer."

Buck gave him a stern look. "No."

"Yes, yes, thank you," Chimney said gratefully, bowing down to Eddie. "Yes. I'll tell Maddie you're both coming."

Eddie clapped his hand on Buck's shoulder and went to his locker, wiping his face with a towel. "After the preview I saw yesterday, I can't wait to see what the main event brings," he said.

Buck was silent, staring at the floor. Chimney said to him, a little worriedly, "Listen, you're not… scared of them, are you?"

"No, I'm not scared of them. They just make me feel like shit, and they're going to make Eddie feel like shit too. And you," he said to Chimney. "So thanks for this. It's going to be great. Thanks so much, Chim."

"Buck," Chimney protested, but Buck was already striding out into the station. He turned to Eddie, holding his hands out. "What? They're his parents."

"Listen, you know as well as I do what bad parents are like," Eddie said to him, changing into his work shirt. There was a bruise on his hip, but it didn't register with Chimney, who was lost in thought. "Just chill out a bit, Chim. Don't be so hard on him. This isn't easy, y'know?"

"Yeah." Chimney rubbed his chin. "Yeah. We just gotta get through this dinner tonight, and then you'll be there on Friday night to hopefully keep the arguments at bay."

"I don't know how I'm going to do that, but sure. Who's the aunt and uncle? Buck didn't mention them."

"They live out here, apparently, in San Diego. Maddie hasn't seen them since she was a teenager. She said their cousin is a real estate agent or something, selling mansions. She doesn't like him. God, I can't wait for this to be over."

Eddie nodded at him, but his eyes were on Buck, who was talking to Bobby out near the trucks. Chimney didn't notice, too busy worrying about getting the house ready, and making sure they had enough plates – god, he didn't think they had a matching set between them – and oh god, the downstairs toilet still was playing up even though he was meant to fix it and he hadn't, and—

"Are you free tonight as well?" he asked Eddie, who turned to him with surprise. "Can you come to this thing too? I know Buck will probably hit the roof, but we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Why don't you invite Bobby and Athena?" Eddie asked with a wry smile.

"That might be overkill. But if Buck won't let us meet his boyfriend, you're the next best thing, Eddie. Please."

Eddie fastened up the buttons on his sleeves and said, "Sure. Okay."

**~*~*~**

As Chimney requested, Buck found himself at their new house three hours before the dinner was supposed to start. He'd come in casual clothes but with a more formal set to change into. Maddie was in the kitchen when he arrived, frantically chopping vegetables, while Chimney puzzled over a stack of plates on the dining table.

They'd bought a four bedroom, two bathroom bungalow in North Hollywood, and had only been living there for about ten days. Buck and Eddie had spent a full day helping them move furniture, and then Buck had spent another full day there, being ordered around by both Chimney and Maddie, until he finally called Eddie in the late afternoon to help him build a crib. Why he needed to build the crib so early, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to argue with his sister.

"What can I do?" Buck asked, setting his bag down in the foyer.

"Can you please fix the toilet in the downstairs bathroom?" Maddie asked him desperately. "Chimney broke it more."

"I'm not a plumber, but I'll give it a look." And he'd call Bobby for help. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, can you vacuum as well, buddy?" Chimney asked. "And maybe clean and put stuff away for us?"

"So I'm your cleaner?"

"Buck, you're amazing and I've got chocolate cake especially for you, which I will give you after they leave," Maddie promised him. "It's all yours."

Well, that was fine. He'd eat it in bed with Eddie. "Thanks. Okay. No problem."

His first stop was the bathroom, and sure enough he had to call Bobby, who told him what part he needed to get. He ducked out to the hardware store, came back, called Bobby to walk him through installing it, and then the toilet was flushing again.

Afterwards he swept and vacuumed the house, tidied the living room, straightened up the bookshelf (which was a mess, all of the books stacked haphazardly) and did a bit polishing before wandering back into the dining room. The table was set for six people, and Buck paused, leaning against the doorframe. "Who else is coming?" he asked them, as they bustled around the kitchen together.

"I invited Eddie," Chimney replied, giving him a quick look.

_Fuck._ Buck whipped his phone out to text Eddie. ' _Don't come tonight. Eds, seriously. I'll do anything you want if you don't come tonight.'_

"How's your boyfriend?" Maddie asked curiously. "You never talk about him."

"That's because he's not out of the closet yet." Buck was focused on his phone screen, waiting for Eddie's reply. "Oh, and remember – with Mom and Dad, I don't have a boyfriend. I have a girlfriend. Okay?"

"I know," she replied. "You know they'll give you grief about it."

"Yeah, just like they do with everything else."

Eddie's reply popped up. ' _Too late. Already dressed. Chris is at Pepa's – u & me tonight, baby xx'_

If they were even still together after dinner, Buck thought unhappily, jamming his phone in his pocket. "I'm going to shower and change."

"Use the master bathroom upstairs," Chimney said.

"Yeah, we put in one of those rainfall shower heads," Maddie added. "You'll love it."

~

He did love it. The cascade of warm water over his head and shoulders actually helped him to relax, and he wished Eddie was there with him. Maybe he could talk him into putting one of these shower heads in his bathroom, even though the shower was a bit of a tight squeeze for the both of them.

Once he was dressed, he went downstairs and found Eddie in the kitchen with Chimney and Maddie, holding a beer to his lips. He was dressed in a maroon button-up and black slacks, looking good enough to eat.

"Look at you," Maddie said to Buck, her eyes lighting up. "That's a nice shirt. You and Eddie are almost matching."

His shirt was dark blue – it set off his eyes. Eddie had picked it out for him for one of their dates. He flashed a smile and sat on the stool beside Eddie, who passed him a beer. While Maddie and Chimney were distracted, they shared a look – Eddie's lips curved upward slightly, and he nudged Buck with his shoulder.

"So," Maddie said suddenly, breaking their reverie. "Chim, Eddie – they're most likely going to say something to upset one or both of you. Don't get mad. There's no point. Buck and I have been through this our whole lives. They know what they're saying is wrong; but they don't care. They will often say things to make you mad and then try to tell you that you're getting mad for no reason; that you're blowing it out of proportion and they didn't mean the thing that they just said to your face. So don't get mad. Just shrug it off."

Eddie and Chimney exchanged a look. "It's gonna be a race thing, right," Eddie said, beer to his lips.

"One hundred percent," Buck muttered.

"And it is very likely that our mom will get wine drunk and start singing Bee Gees songs," Maddie added, rolling her eyes. "And when does that, our dad – who will also be drunk – will be looking at her like she's the greatest singer in the world. And he's wrong, guys. He's very, very wrong."

"Because the thing is," Buck said, resting his hand on Eddie's shoulder, "they love each other. They should've stopped at just getting married and not having kids, but they had kids."

"And we've been mutually disappointing them since day one," Maddie added, glazing the top of her pie with egg. "Honey, can you put this in the oven for me? Please don't drop it."

"I won't," Chimney admonished, taking it from her and sliding into the bottom of the oven.

"I already know what she's going to say; I don't even know why I bothered making it. It's not as good as the one your grandmother used to make," Maddie said sarcastically, tidying up the bench. "God, this is a nightmare. Maybe I'll go into extremely early labour?"

"Do not even joke," Chimney warned.

"But if you do," Buck said, "you are surrounded by paramedics."

Maddie flashed him a smile. "True," she replied, and then groaned. "God, Buck."

"I know, I know."

"This is going to be horrible."

"I know." He swigged his beer, glancing at Eddie again. "You can still leave."

"No, I'm committed to this now," Eddie replied. "I'm ready for whatever happens."

Chimney checked his watch. "All right, guys. They'll be here any minute. Are we all ready for this?"

Buck swigged his beer and muttered, "You guys are so fucking screwed, you have no idea."

~~

Eddie had to admit it – Buck was right.

His parents were _awful._

They were vain and self-centered. The conversation revolved around which neighbour had bought a Range Rover (the Smith's, and they painted their house an awful shade of eggshell white that simply does not match with the rest of the neighbourhood, not to mention the obscene forest green _trim_ ), which of Maddie's school friends were now married rich with kids (all of them) and that one guy Buck knew in high school who ended up in jail for embezzlement.

And then there was a long discussion about Maddie and Doug, and how they were sorry they hadn't visited her in hospital after that whole incident, but Doug's family were very upset, and they thought it was in poor taste. _To take your daughter's side?_ Eddie thought with horror.

They feigned interest in Maddie's job at the call centre, but things veered off course when the discussion turned to the train derailment – that led to a conversation about train travel in general, and how Mrs Buckley was staunchly against it in America, but in Europe, they'd had a wonderful time on the train, and then the river cruise they'd done through Hungary and Budapest had just been absolutely _delightful_.

Eddie had sat in a stunned silence as Mr and Mrs Buckley chatted away as though they were the world's most fascinating people in front of a willing audience. Chimney was nodding along, trying to seem interested. Maddie kept sneaking glances at Buck, who was on his third or fourth beer, staring off into space. He was somewhere in his head, not paying any attention to them. Eddie guessed he'd probably gotten very good at that when he was growing up.

Suddenly they were talking about how they'd taken off to Europe when Buck was a teenager, leaving him in the care of the aunt and uncle they were going to be meeting on Friday night. Buck had no reaction, but Eddie listened with mounting horror as he realised that Buck's parents had effectively abandoned him for almost two months with people who sounded equally as terrible. Maddie was glancing over at Buck guiltily, but Buck was still in his own world, pulled away from Eddie completely – no part of their bodies was touching, and Eddie _needed_ to feel him.

So he stood up to excuse himself, gripping Buck's shoulder with his hand, and said, "Can you show me where the bathroom is again?"

Buck looked up at him with surprise and then stood, leading him down the hall. If anyone thought it was strange, nobody commented, because Mrs Buckley had launched into a story about the time she saw Neil Diamond in the first class lounge at JFK Airport.

Buck stopped outside the bathroom door, glancing at Eddie quizzically. "It's here."

"I know." Eddie cast a look down the hall, and then fumbled for the handle, pulling Buck inside. "Just needed you to come back down to earth again."

"It's the only way to get through it. I can't stay; they'll notice." Buck gave him a quick kiss, attempting to pull away from him, but Eddie clung on. "Eds."

"You have me," Eddie whispered. "You're my family."

Buck relaxed a little, and then gave him a genuine smile. "I know. I love you. I'm sorry this is awful."

"It's pretty bad, but I've been through worse." Eddie squeezed his hands reassuringly. "Go on."

Buck took a step to the door and then stopped, glancing back at him. "This isn't a deal breaker?"

"Not at all."

"Good, because they haven't even started in on me yet." Buck closed the door behind him.

Eddie did his business and washed up, examining his reflection in the mirror before heading back out to the table. A fresh beer was waiting for him, and Buck had another full bottle in his hand, leaning back in his seat as his parents regaled the table with the story of that time they were in Australia and the café they were in refused to take their black American Express card.

That scintillating tidbit was followed by the story of when they were on a cruise in the Mediterranean and the Italians on board thought it was acceptable to smoke, on a ship that had almost zero no-smoking areas, in Europe, where smoking was still fair game.

Dessert was served, and Eddie was starting to wonder if they were going to get out of this without Buck being subjected to any scrutiny, but suddenly both of his parents had their sharklike eyes on him, almost as though they'd had the same thought at the same time. Eddie sat up a little straighter, glancing at Buck, who was steeled for whatever they might say.

"So," Mrs Buckley asked. "Why isn't your girlfriend here?"

"She had to work." Buck's tone was clipped.

"And what does she do?"

"She's the manager at a hotel downtown."

"Oh. Well, that doesn't pay very well," Mr Buckley said, exchanging a look with his wife. "And you'll probably need someone to prop you up, Evan."

"Not really interested in money." Buck was staring at the cherry pie on his plate like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"We'd like to meet her," Mrs Buckley said magnanimously. "Tomorrow."

"She's busy. Working."

"I'm starting to think she isn't real!" Mr Buckley exclaimed. "Wouldn't be the first time you've made someone up! Another invisible friend, Evan?"

Buck was silent.

"You've met her, right?" Mrs Buckley said to Maddie, who shook her head. "Howard? Have you?"

Chimney said quietly, "No, Buck's been pretty quiet about it."

"I've met her," Eddie spoke up, and suddenly all eyes were on him. "She's great. Christopher likes her as well."

Maddie asked weakly, "Christopher has met her?"

"Yeah. We ran into them at the mall one day." Eddie swigged his beer as Buck's knee pressed against his insistently. "So yeah, she's real, and he'll introduce you when he's ready."

"Hopefully soon," Maddie said to Buck, who shrugged. "Buck?"

"Why do you all call him that?" Mrs Buckley asked in amusement. "That wasn't your high school nickname."

"What was your high school nickname?" Chimney asked in a low voice.

Mr Buckley hooted. "They all called him Buttercup. Buck up, Buttercup!"

Buck had no reaction. Maddie had her hand over her mouth, staring at her plate, and Chimney merely looked confused.

"Did we ever tell you about the time that we found him and his college roommate having sex?" Mrs Buckley asked Maddie, who went bright red. "Oh, you were off with Doug by that point. We heard noises coming from Evan's room, and sure enough, there he is with that _boy._ Black. You know."

Chimney visibly cringed, sitting back in his seat, turning his head to the side.

"I never wanted to see you in that position, with someone like that," Mrs Buckley said, shaking her head. "It was a terrible shock and disappointment."

"We always knew there was something off about you," Mr Buckley added. "You were always too soft. Always crying and emotional. You know when we went to Europe for those few months when he was fifteen, he begged us not to go. A fifteen-year-old, sobbing and begging his parents to stay? Ridiculous."

Buck nodded, but it was like he wasn't even really listening. His eyes were glassy and glazed over, and he hadn't lifted his head the entire time the conversation had been focused on him. Maddie was swallowing hard, tears in her eyes, and Chimney had progressed from cringing to barely suppressed anger, his arms folded across his chest.

Desperate to deflect their attention, Eddie said, "There's nothing wrong with being soft. It's better than bottling all your emotions up and doing something stupid." _Like joining a fight club, for example._

"And your father would be okay with you if you were caught with your college roommate?" Mr Buckley asked him bluntly.

"No, but I'd be okay with my son being gay, as long as he was happy. That's what it's about, right? The happiness of your kids? Making sure they have the best tools possible to lead full and healthy lives?" He just couldn't help himself, couldn't keep the snark out of his voice, and they were glaring at him.

"And how old is your son?" Mrs Buckley asked, with forced pleasantness.

Buck stiffened, and Eddie could practically read his mind. _Do not talk about Christopher. They will make you feel like shit._

"He's nine. I'm a single father."

"And his mother?"

"She passed away last year. It's just him and I." He saw the look they gave each other, that pitying look, and sat back in his seat, waiting for the next bomb to drop.

"And you're Mexican," Mr Buckley said, raising his eyebrows.

_Here we go_. Eddie glanced at Chimney, who had his head in his hands. "Yes sir. My father is Mexican, my mother is Swedish."

"So when did you come into this country, exactly?" Mrs Buckley asked sweetly.

_Oh, going to report me to ICE, are you?_ Eddie thought, as Buck's hand gripped his thigh under the table. "I was born here."

Mr Buckley said, "So no special residency, no green cards, nothing like that…"

"No, sir. I'm a US citizen. I served two tours in the army." _Fucking try me, you old prick._

If anything, that only served to make them more disapproving. Mr Buckley folded his arms across his chest, his beady eyes trained on Eddie. "Iraq?"

"Afghanistan."

"And your father came over legally?"

"He certainly did. He's an American citizen."

"And what is Eddie short for, exactly?"

"Edmundo. I'm named after my grandfather."

"And he lives here legally as well?" Mr Buckley asked pointedly.

Eddie replied flatly, "No, sir. He's dead. They buried him in Mexico."

They exchanged another look. Eddie glanced at Buck again, who was still silent – listening to every word, but swallowing down his emotions.

"And how do you know Evan?" Mrs Buckley asked, suddenly pleasant again.

"From work. Same as I know Chimney," Eddie replied. "The 118 is our family."

"Oh dear," Mrs Buckley murmured, pouring herself another glass of wine. "It seems to me like none of you have any outside friends, except maybe Evan's invisible girlfriend."

"And your son is nine, you said," Mr Buckley mused. "Play sport, does he? It's good for a young boy to play sport. We made sure Evan had plenty of extra-curricular activities."

Buck was gripping his leg so tightly under the table that Eddie was sure he was going to leave a bruise. He said, "Mr Buckley, my son has cerebral palsy, but that doesn't stop him from leading a full and happy life. He and Buck are best friends. They were on the pier together when the tsunami hit, and Buck saved his life. Did you know that? Did you ever hear about all the people Buck saved that day, by pulling them up onto a fire truck? Nearly twenty people."

Mr and Mrs Buckley were both silent, their faces impassive.

Maddie said, "And the plane that crashed here a few years ago? Buck was hands-on in that rescue as well."

"And in the earthquake," Chimney added, "these two clowns actually went up in the hotel that collapsed in order to rescue people, and nearly got crushed by an elevator."

Mr and Mrs Buckley exchanged a look. Mrs Buckley sipped her wine, fingering the pearls on her necklace, entirely disinterested.

"And Maddie killed Doug," Buck said, surprising them all, "because he was a fucking asshole who spent the entirety of the marriage beating the shit out of her, and you guys didn't care. No one cared."

"You weren't around either," Mrs Buckley pointed out, her voice a little slurred. "Don't you turn this on us, Evan."

"He cared," Maddie said quietly. "He always reached out. I never wrote back."

The siblings exchanged a look. Buck said, "Well, you're my number one, Maddie. Always have been, always will be."

Mr Buckley rolled his eyes. "Well, maybe you should spend less time with your sister and friends and more time with this invisible girlfriend of yours. Or is it actually an invisible boyfriend, Evan?"

Buck fell silent again, swallowing hard. Eddie said, "Aren't you even a little bit happy that your son is a hero who rescues people daily? And your daughter is a 911 operator who does the exact same thing, but in a different way? And she's marrying Chim, the finest paramedic I've ever met."

At that they both looked at Chimney. Mr Buckley said, "I thought your name was Howard."

Chimney was instantly on guard. "It is. My nickname is Chimney."

"And you're from China, correct?"

Maddie groaned. Eddie took Buck's hand under the table.

~

An hour later, and some drunken singing and dancing to the Best of the Bee Gees later, Mr and Mrs Buckley left in a cab, both unsteady on their feet.

As soon as they were gone and the front door was shut and locked, they all visibly relaxed. Maddie wrapped Buck up in a hug and kissed his cheek reassuringly.

Chimney – who'd spent a long time patiently explaining to them that he was also an American citizen, and no, he wasn't from China or Japan, he was from South Korea, and no, he didn't know anyone from North Korea and hadn't been there himself, and no, he didn't have an opinion on China nor had he ever been there, and no, he didn't celebrate Chinese New Year because he wasn't, in fact, Chinese, and no, the rebar going through his skull hadn't caused any permanent damage – went into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of tequila and three shot glasses.

"We've earned this," he said, pouring them each a glass. "On three." He counted them in, and Eddie downed his shot, the fiery liquid burning his throat.

Buck had his, and then took the bottle from Chimney and poured himself another. He swallowed it in a gulp before setting the shot glass down on the table and taking a seat on the couch, burying his face in his hands.

"Why'd they call you Buttercup?" Chimney asked him. He sat down on one of the armchairs, and Maddie arranged herself on his lap.

Eddie took the empty seat beside Buck, wanting to hold his hand. Wanted to, but didn't.

"A teacher at school yelled at me one day for something I hadn't done, and I got all flustered and started crying," Buck said, rubbing his face vigorously, before straightening up. "He started with it. Dad continued with it. No one else really did, though, did they Maddie?"

She shook her head, absently running her fingers through Chimney's hair. "Maybe Kyle will say something," she murmured. "He always was a dick. Eddie, you're coming to dinner again, right?"

"Yep." He glanced at Buck. "I did a good job of deflecting them from you."

"Oh yeah, I really loved the insinuation that my best friend came here illegally," Buck said dryly. "That was hilarious. And you wait, Eddie. You shouldn't have said anything about Christopher. They'll bring it up again, for sure."

"Ah, we'll see. I can handle it." Eddie bumped Buck's shoulder with his own. "Come on. Crash at my place tonight. I want some of that cake."

Maddie laughed. "I made it for Buck, you know."

"Yeah, but he owes me." Eddie nudged him again. "Besides, I can kick your ass at that stupid fighting game, and you can swear at me without Christopher around to hear you."

Buck snorted. "Yeah, all right."

"I'll call an Uber," Eddie said, rising to his feet. "Dinner – the food – was great, Maddie. Thank you. And the house is looking really good as well. You let me know if you guys need a hand with painting or anything, all right? I did our house when we first moved here."

"We haven't decided what colour to paint the baby's room yet," Maddie replied, rising to her feet, "but if you have painting expertise, I will definitely be asking you for help."

"I can paint," Chimney said petulantly. "Nobody asks me for help."

"Because we all know you're no good at it," Buck teased him, following Maddie into the kitchen.

~

Buck was silent in the car, but he gave Eddie a questioning look when he realised they weren't heading to his apartment. They usually only had sex at his apartment. It was blow jobs and hand jobs only at Eddie's house, and only in the middle of the night or very early morning in the shower.

Eddie said, "Christopher will be home at eight in the morning. I figured you'd need a pick-me-up."

Buck broke into a smile, swallowing hard. "Yeah, I do."

Eddie took his hand and squeezed it.

Once they arrived home, and they were inside, Buck wrapped around Eddie like he was drowning and claimed his lips in a kiss, pushing him up against the wall. Eddie hugged him back, trying to give him every single bit of love that he had, to boost him up and make him whole again.

And then Buck was pulling away, but Eddie held onto his hand insistently. When Buck gave him a haunted, unhappy look, he said, "I found a song for us."

Buck's eyebrows lifted. "You did?"

"Yeah. You want to hear it?"

"Okay."

Eddie pulled his phone out of his pocket, opening Spotify. He wasn't a huge music fan, but he'd heard the song on the radio one day and added it to his collection. He figured Buck would already know it, and sure enough when he pressed play, a slow smile spread across his face.

_Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time  
_ _Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you  
_ _Maybe I'm amazed at the way you pulled me out of time  
_ _And hung me on a line  
_ _Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you_

He laughed, looking a little brighter, tilting his head up to listen to the music. "You found this song," he said, shaking Eddie's hand gently. "How'd you find this song?"

"It was on the radio." Eddie stepped into Buck's arms, pulling him close. "Made me think of you and me. Me, mostly… it hits home, a bit."

Buck seemed to forget his bad night. He listened to the lyrics, head cocked, and said, "Do you know the story of Paul and Linda McCartney?"

"No, you know I don't."

Buck grinned. "They met in 1967 in London," he said, slow dancing with Eddie around the room. "But they didn't get together until nearly a year later, and from the moment they began, it never stopped. They got married and had a baby in 1969. She was there for him when The Beatles broke up, she was right by his side when he recorded his first solo album and right beside him on stage when he formed Wings and started touring. In their thirty years of marriage, they only spent ten nights apart, when he was in jail in Japan. Ten nights, out of thirty years. Can you believe that?"

Eddie shook his head, a lump in his throat.

_Maybe I'm a man and maybe I'm a lonely man_ _  
Who's in the middle of something  
That he doesn't really understand_

"They had four kids together," Buck said quietly. "He wrote songs for her, great, timeless love songs. And when she was diagnosed with cancer in the early 90s, he never left her side, you know… never gave up hoping that she might beat it. But she didn't, and he stayed at her bedside until the end, telling her that she was riding her horse as she passed away. That's love, Eds… that's real, true love, and I know that celebrities are bullshit, but… when I read that story, that's what I wanted. Endless love."

_Maybe I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time_ _  
Maybe I'm afraid of the way I leave you  
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you help me sing my song  
Right me when I'm wrong  
Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you_

Eddie let out a breath as the song ended, his chin on Buck's shoulder. He was quiet, and Buck kissed his cheek and said, "So it's kinda funny that's the song you picked."

"I didn't know you liked Paul McCartney. When I heard it, I didn't even know it was Paul McCartney. It was just a song I liked that made me think of you." Eddie hugged him.

"It makes me think of you, too. Thanks for being there tonight."

"Where you go, I go. We're a team."

"When you said you had my back, I never thought it would be for this."

"There are worse things." Eddie caressed his face, gazing at him earnestly. "They were talking about your aunt and uncle. What's the story there?"

Buck screwed his face up. "My uncle is a mean drunk," he muttered. "And my cousin is a dickhead, and we didn't get along. It was the worst two months of my life. I'd rather my parents' brand of passive aggressiveness than just outright hostility."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay; it was a long time ago and it doesn't matter now." Buck bit his lip, looking up at Eddie with sad eyes. "I never wanted you to meet them."

"Well, it explains a lot, like… why you hate it when I call you baby," Eddie said quietly. "They think you're soft, so… you don't like it when I say that to you."

Buck shook his head vigorously, grasping his hands. "No, Eddie. I love it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I know there's nothing behind it and I know you don't think I'm weak or anything."

"No, I know you're not."

"Because you know I'm tough and strong."

"Oh yeah, you're a big strong man."

Buck grinned. "And you know I could take you into that bedroom and give it to you real good."

"Oh definitely, I'm kinda hoping you'll do that, actually," Eddie murmured, and smacked a kiss to his lips, one to both cheeks and then one in the middle of his forehead, so Buck was beaming and blushing, turning his face to the side.

"Hey," he said quietly, tapping his cheek. "You and me, baby. Remember what I said, okay? They're the past, but we're the future. I'm going to make you so happy, Buck."

"You already do make me happy, every day," Buck replied quietly. "You're the love of my life, Eds."

Eddie smiled at him, running his thumb over his lips. "I'm going to marry you, you know," he said, and Buck let out a delighted laugh, his eyes lighting up. "Yep. I'm going to fucking marry you and there's not a goddamn thing you can do to stop me."

"Oh, really? Is that so?"

"Yeah, I'm going to put a ring on your finger and make you say vows in front of people," he continued, cupping Buck's face with his hands, "and I'm gonna make you wear a nice suit, and then we're going to dance. In front of our _friends and family._ "

Buck was practically _giggling_ , blushing like a fool. "No way, man. We're going to elope in Vegas."

"Nope. We're doing it up right. A big party." Eddie kissed him again, and whispered against his lips, "You and me, baby."

Buck closed his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too."

~~

If Buck had thought the get together at Maddie's had been bad, he was in no way prepared for dinner at an expensive, upper-class restaurant in Long Beach. Eddie had murmured to him as they arrived that the chef had two Michelin stars, but Buck had absolutely no idea what that meant, or how to read French, or what any of the things on the menu were. He and Eddie shared a horrified glance as they were seated, and then Buck had discreetly taken a photo of the menu and sent it to Bobby to decipher for them.

His cousin Kyle was there, and if Kyle had been a dipshit when he was a kid, he was now a fully developed dickhead – sleazy, slimy and downright awful - he spoke a mile a minute and kept flicking glances Eddie's way. Why, Buck didn't know, but he hated it. Had always hated his cousin – they'd never gotten along. Kyle was a weasel; always had been.

The worst part was that his parents and his aunt and uncle were already well on their way to drunk, ordering bottles of wine and shrieking with laughter, and making derisive comments about their children every so often – "Oh well, we were certainly surprised when Madeline told us she was pregnant, you know, at her age it's quite difficult!" and "Yes, well, we'll take a firefighter – we were quite concerned that he'd end up on the stripper pole at one point, you know how it is, Mo!" which was swiftly followed by, "Oh, I always thought Doug was such a _lovely man_ , it really is such a pity."

Buck wanted the floor to swallow him up.

Thankfully Bobby replied to him before the waiter returned and told them what they each should order – steak for Buck, and duck for Eddie, who had tried it once at one of Bobby's dinner parties and _loved it_.

And while everyone was distracted – well, Kyle was talking Maddie and Chimney's ear off about a million dollar property he'd sold somewhere in San Diego ( _bullshit_ , Buck thought), and the other four were gossiping about some mutual friends who were in the middle of a messy divorce – Eddie said to Buck quietly, "I'm thinking we eat and then leave."

"Sounds good." Buck sipped his water, discreetly taking Eddie's hand under the table.

"They won't even notice," Eddie murmured.

"Nope." They shared a brief smile, but the moment was broken by Kyle, who cleared his throat loudly.

"So, Buttercup," he drawled. "How long have you been on the West Coast now?"

Buck sighed. "About four years."

"And in all that time you didn't once try to catch up with me." Kyle pretended to pout at him, and then laughed widely and loudly, as though he was the funniest guy in the room.

He was the biggest fuckhead in the room, for sure. Buck said, "Honestly, I forgot you existed when I left Pennsylvania."

Everyone went quiet. Maddie shot him a warning look, but he just did not fucking care anymore. He didn't want to go through this again; didn't want the cheap shots and pointed barbs thrown his way; didn't want Eddie's fucking _citizenship_ questioned. He was _done._

Kyle's mouth was open, but he was grinning – he was trying to rile Buck up, and he thought it was working. But Eddie was holding Buck's hand under the table, and Buck had his eyes on the prize – get through this dinner, and then go back to his apartment so Eddie could make him feel good all night long. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of falling apart. He wasn't _soft._ He was a grown man and his cousin was an absolute fucking moron.

"And what does your friend do?" Kyle asked, tilting his head at Eddie. "Other than blow you, I assume."

Maddie gasped. Chimney's mouth set into a tight line.

"Just like his college boyfriend did," Patricia murmured to Aunt Maureen, who snorted with laughter.

Buck ignored that comment and said, "He's a firefighter like me and he does MMA, so… I'd probably watch what I say, man."

"Ooh, MMA," Kyle teased. "Kind of a rough sport for a twink like you."

Eddie made a face, glancing at Buck in confusion. Buck said with a chuckle, "You think he's a twink? That's adorable. Good for you, Kyle."

"No, I meant—"

"Well, clearly you're up to date on the lingo, right? And you've been eyeing him off all night. So what is it? You making fun of us or are you hitting on him?"

Kyle's jaw dropped. "I wasn't—"

"You kind of are, though," Buck said, raising his eyebrows at him. "Been a long time since you've seen someone as hot as Eddie? Must be rough down there in San Diego. All the guys at the clubs sick of your routine by now?"

"I'm not gay," Kyle practically snarled at him. "Buttercup, shut the fuck—"

"Don't call me Buttercup, you fucking idiot," Buck hissed at him. "You know damn well that I kicked your ass in high school, so don't fucking tempt me to do it again tonight. Jackass."

"You never kicked my ass, you got lucky—"

"I flattened you," Buck said venomously. "Knocked you out. I'll do it again, so shut the fuck up, stop eyeing Eddie off and leave us both the fuck alone."

Kyle turned to Roger and Patricia, gesturing to Buck. "Are you going to let him speak to me like this?"

Patricia waved a hand at him, already drunk. "I don't even know what you're talking about," she slurred. "But it wouldn't surprise me if Buck had found himself another boyfriend, you know – after walking in on him with that college roommate of his, I suppose a Mexican is the next logical step."

Chimney groaned, dropping his head into his hands. Maddie said sharply, "I think we need to lay off this, right now. Seriously."

"Well, it's always hard to reconcile when your son, your pride and joy, is a constant disappointment," Roger said to Uncle Barry, "and then you find out that he won't even give you grandchildren. Made up a girlfriend and everything."

"Well, he always was a little delicate, wasn't he," Uncle Barry slurred in response.

"Oh my god," Maddie said, turning to Buck and Eddie in desperation.

Buck, who was leaning back in his seat, holding onto Eddie's elbow under the table, wore a defiant, smug grin. "Yeah, I'm bisexual," he said, arching his eyebrows pointedly. "And I'm not ashamed of it. And yeah, you caught me with my college boyfriend, but I'm also not ashamed of that. He's a great guy and we still keep in touch. He was an intern for Obama, you know."

At that, they all groaned in unison.

"And Eddie here," Buck continued, "Eddie was awarded the Silver Star for bravery. And he met Obama as well."

Another groan. "That's Barack Hussein Obama, you mean, the Kenyan," Uncle Barry sneered.

"The very same. And – we all voted for Hillary."

"Fat lot of good that did," Roger remarked. "She would've sunk this country if she'd won."

"Oh, like we're not already sinking? Tell me how much money you've lost since Trump has been in power," Buck retorted. "How are those investments travelling, Dad? Probably not so great. And you, Kyle – how's the housing market going? Heating up? Cooling off? Because I don't believe for a single second that you made the sale you were bragging about before, not when your suit jacket has a hole in the elbow and there are food stains on your shirt."

Kyle hit his fist on the table, hard, glaring at Buck. "Shut the fuck up."

Buck smirked. "Must be tough, is all I'm saying. Must be real tough for a sleazeball like you right now."

"You arrogant piece of—"

"Dinner's here," Maddie hissed. She sat up straight in her seat, smiling at the waiters as they began to set the meals down.

Buck and Eddie's meals were placed in front of them, and Buck said to the waiter, "Hey listen, can you wrap mine and his to go? We're leaving. We'll be at the bar."

The waiter nodded and took the plates back to the kitchen.

"You're not going anywhere," Patricia warned. "You're going to stay here and catch up with your family."

"Nah, I'm good. I feel like we've done enough catching up." Buck leaned forward, catching his father's eyes, and said, "Hey, dad. You know the girl I'm seeing? It's actually a dude. Disappointing, huh?"

Roger made a fist, glaring at him.

"And last year we all marched at Pride and I wore sparkly rainbow shorts and no shirt," he continued, grinning at his parents, who both wore matching expressions of horror. "We've attended the Women's March and Black Lives Matter marches every single time they've come around. Aren't you proud? You must be so proud."

"We raised you better than this," Roger said firmly. "This isn't the son I raised."

"You didn't raise me at all." Buck pushed his chair out and stood up, and Eddie quickly did the same, casting an apologetic look at Chimney and Maddie. "So we're gonna go. Enjoy your meals, okay? Don't bother calling next time you're in town, and thanks for picking up our tab."

He strode over to the bar, Eddie on his heels, and ordered an expensive bottle of wine. "Don't uncork it," he said to the bartender. "My parents are picking up the bill. That table over there."

"Certainly, sir," the bartender said, hurrying to collect the $150 bottle of wine. "Will that be all?"

"That's it. We're just waiting on our food." Buck slipped the guy a $50 tip, and leaned against the bar, the bottle tucked under his arm.

Eddie looked absolutely astounded, impressed and a little turned on. Buck grinned at him smugly, and Eddie bit down hard on his lip. Buck thought, _I am going let you absolutely pound me tonight._

The waiter arrived with two containers, and Buck handed him a tip as well before leading Eddie out of the restaurant. He passed the wine to Eddie and said, "Just one more stop before we go home."

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Eddie murmured. "I've never been so fucking horny in my life."

"Well, you're gonna have to wait, because we're doing one more thing first."

~

They went to a tattoo parlour. Buck hadn't had new ink in a couple of years, but he needed to mark Eddie on his skin, permanently, and it could not wait.

Thankfully, the woman who had done his last three tattoos was free, and she led him and Eddie to a curtained off room in the back. Buck unbuttoned his dress shirt, undid his belt and pulled his pants down to reveal his hip bone. He said, "Just script, right here, and I'll write it down for you."

Eddie was watching with glittering eyes, his hand to his lips.

The tattoo didn't take long, only half an hour, and they chatted while she worked. When it was done, he examined it in the mirror, nodding with satisfaction, and then turned to show Eddie.

_You can have my back any day._

Eddie blinked, swallowing hard, pressing his thumb to Buck's hip, just above the tattoo. "You remembered."

"Been meaning to get it for a while."

Eddie nodded, his eyes glistening. "My turn then," he said to Amy, unbuckling his belt. "Same spot."

She smiled at him. "Write it down, hot stuff."

Buck pulled his clothes back on and waited, snapping a picture on his phone – Eddie grinning at him from the table, Amy bent over with the tattoo pen.

When she was done, he stood up and let Buck examine him.

_You ~~could~~ have mine._

"I don't remember the strikethrough being there when I said that to you," Buck remarked, and Eddie kissed him in response.

"You two are so fucking cute," Amy said with a laugh. "Want me to take your picture, boys?"

Buck passed over his phone. "Why not?"

~

They ended up re-heating their fancy French meal in Buck's microwave and eating it at his kitchen island. The expensive wine was poured into two glass tumblers, because Buck didn't have any wine glasses. It didn't taste like it cost $150.

Eddie said quietly, "We might need to tell people soon."

"Yeah."

"Chim and Maddie might have an idea."

Buck shook his head. "I have no texts from her, other than her being pissed that we left. They don't know."

"It's my family I'm worried about. Not… the ones here. But the El Paso side? Yeah." Eddie had another bite of food, closing his eyes briefly. "God, this is good."

"It really is."

"We should go back there sometime, just you and me."

"Well, I gave the bartender a very generous tip so I'm sure he'd be happy to see us again." Buck had a sip of wine, and then reached out to wipe some sauce from the corner of Eddie's mouth.

Eddie gave him a quick smile, and then asked, "Hey… what's a twink, exactly?"

"Oh god, don't let anything that idiot said get into your head."

"No, but like… I don't know what it is."

"Twinks are like… younger gay guys, usually smaller guys, slim builds, with pretty faces," Buck replied. "You are certainly not a twink."

"What am I, then?"

Buck leaned in and said confidentially, " _Fucking hot._ "

Eddie went red. "And you?"

"I'm yours, Eddie. It doesn't matter what I am."

"And that tonight, that was…"

"Cathartic. I just decided I didn't give a fuck anymore. Who cares what they think? I only care what you think." He'd finished half his meal, so he offered it to Eddie, who swapped containers with him.

"It was very, very attractive," Eddie murmured, digging into Buck's steak. "I was extremely turned on."

"Well, we have all night."

"Yeah." Eddie met his eyes again. "We should tell Chris."

"I've been thinking that too."

"He won't be able to keep it a secret."

"I'm ready when you are. You just say when."

~~

They discovered at work on Sunday that Buck's parents had gotten so drunk at the restaurant that the maître d' asked them to leave, and in the car park Kyle had harassed Chimney for Eddie's number, under the guise of apologising to him.

Chimney said to Eddie, a little ruefully, "So we think Kyle might be into you."

Eddie grimaced. "That's… awful."

"Was he really that bad?" Hen asked, leaning over the pool table to take her shot.

"Yes," Eddie and Chimney said at the same time.

"In what way though?"

"Well, he was aggressively hitting on Eddie," Chimney said bluntly. "I'm pretty sure he was on cocaine as well. After you guys left, he went to the bathroom and came out with white powder on his nose."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Buck said from where he was lounging against the wall. "I warned you."

"Yeah, I know, but I'm marrying into your family, Buck. I've got to get to know them, haven't I?"

"They weren't too interested in getting to know you, were they? Which country are you from again?"

Chimney shot him a look. "Okay, fine."

"And you're not Doug – the great and wonderful Doug. He was a surgeon, don't you know. And he was _white._ " Buck arched his eyebrows at Chimney. "You'll never compete. Doesn't matter that he spent the entirety of his marriage beating Maddie up – that does not matter. He comes from a good family and he was born in this country."

"All right, all right, you've made your point," Chimney complained. "They're awful."

"Yep." Buck glanced over at Eddie, licking his lips.

Eddie suddenly wanted to make out with him desperately but forced himself to take his shot against Hen. He pocketed the ball, and then lined up for another – and maybe he was bent over right in front of Buck, and maybe he had to make some slight adjustments before he was able to line the ball up just right.

He missed the shot, and stood up, glancing over at Buck, who was staring right back at him.

"God, you're off your game, Eddie," Hen commented, shaking her head. "Missed shots all over the place."

"Well, Chim threw me off. You didn't give him my number, did you?"

"I would've, as a joke, but I was concerned Buckaroo might murder me." Chimney glanced at Buck, who flashed him a grin. "Did you really beat him up in high school? I can't even imagine you getting aggressive with someone."

"I punched him in high school and again when I was in college. He made a crack about my boyfriend at the time. Speaking of which, you guys would like Nick. He's a great guy. He works at the UN now." Buck arched his eyebrows at Eddie, right before it was his goddamn turn.

Eddie missed his shot, and Hen snickered. "Diaz, you suck today."

"Yeah, yeah." He took a step back, looking over to where Bobby was preparing lunch. "Shouldn't you go help him, Buck?" he said pointedly, wanting to regain some of his dignity.

Buck smirked and said, "No, he told me I wasn't needed."

"Lunch will be ready in ten minutes, guys," Bobby called to them. "Chim, come here and make the salad."

"On it," Chimney replied, hurrying over to join him.

Hen sank three balls in quick succession, and then lined up the final shot – the black ball in the corner pocket, which she sank with ease. She grinned at Eddie, gloating, and said, "Rematch?"

"No, you're too good today," he complained, putting his cue back in its spot. "I'm going down to wash up for lunch."

He fully expected Buck to follow him, but when he reached the bathrooms he was alone. Disappointed, he scrubbed his hands in the sink and examined his reflection, looking up when he heard a whistle from the door.

Buck was lounging there, smiling at him, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "What are you doing?"

"Washing my hands." He was grinning, but he turned his back on him. "What are _you_ doing?"

"Thinking I might like a little appetiser before lunch."

"Can't do anything here."

"Mmm, why not? Everyone's busy and the showers are empty."

Drying his hands, Eddie said pointedly, "Because we don't do that." Suddenly Buck was behind him, sliding his hands around his waist. Eddie pulled away, turning around, his eyes wide. "What if someone walks in?"

"Then we should probably go in here," Buck said, taking by the hand and dragging him into the showers, to the stall at the back. He pushed Eddie up against the tiled wall and kissed him hungrily.

Eddie couldn't help but fold like a deck of cards. Buck was laughing at him, undoing his belt, those bright blue eyes of his shining with happiness.

"We're going to get caught."

"Nah. They're busy." Buck dropped to his knees with a wicked grin on his face.

"You're such a jerk."

"You are." And then Buck's mouth was full, and Eddie covered his mouth with his forearm, trying not to make any noise.

~~

**Author's Note:**

> [Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney](https://youtu.be/cdDPR8GzXy8)


End file.
